1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chicken harvesting apparatus of a type intended for self-propelled movement inside a large commercial chicken house in which chickens are raised, which apparatus is used for the purpose of picking up and cooping chickens for transport to a slaughtering or meat processing facility.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In Ledwell U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,588, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, an apparatus and a method for harvesting domestic fowl or chickens is depicted and described. The apparatus utilized includes a chicken gathering conveyor which carries a plurality of sets of fingers moveably mounted on chains and moved through an endless path which has a lowermost portion adjacent the ground. The chickens are scooped up by the fingers of the chicken gathering conveyor, and are then moved by a series of transfer conveyors to a point of discharge into a coop or other container preparatory to moving or transporting the harvested chickens to a processing facility.